Oneida, Anchor Hocking To Co-Brand Glassware
Big news from the land of tableware: Oneida Ltd. and the Anchor Hocking Co. plan to be sharing table settings from now on, thanks to a recently signed licensing agreement.

Under terms of the agreement, the two companies foodservice glassware lines will be consolidated and co-branded as Anchor Glass/Oneida. The newly badged items make their market debut in February. Look for the name to appear on stemware, barware, servingware, and specialty glasses.

One of the first major additions to the glassware line will come from Italian glassmaker Bormioli Rocco, thanks to another recent agreement.

"With all three brands, we can pursue a good, better, best strategy," said James Joseph, sr. v.p. and general manager of Oneida Foodservice

Churchs Chicken To Run With The Caribou
AFC Enterprises, parent company of Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Churchs Chicken, has signed a letter of intent to sell Churchs to a private equity firm for $390 million. The move is the latest step in the Atlanta-based companys long-term strategy of focusing on Popeyes, its largest brand.

In September, AFC signed a deal to sell Cinnabon to Focus Brands, the parent company of ice cream chain Carvel, for $21 million. Last year, the company sold most of its domestic Seattles Best Coffee units to Starbucks for $72 million.

Garvin Appointed New President At Prince Castle
Theres a new prince at the castle: Randy Garvin has been named president of Prince Castle. The Carol Stream, Ill.-based manufacturer and distributor of a wide line of commercial foodservice equipment is a division of Marmon Retail Services.

Garvin comes to Prince Castle from Unarco Industries, where he served as president. Before that, he managed the Tulsa, Okla., division of Bergren Brunswig Corp., a pharmaceutical distributor.

Garvins appointment fills the void left at Prince Castle by the unexpected death of Pres. John Esselburn in October. He was 61.

Editor-Judges At IH/M&RS Make Rational Choice
Rational Cooking Systems SelfCooking Center earned both the Kenneth F. Hine award for Best In Show and top spot in the Restaurant category at the Int'l. Hotel/ Motel & Restaurant Shows Editors Choice Awards. The show took place at New Yorks Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Nov. 13-16.

The manufacturers SelfCooking Center impressed judges with its ability to automatically calculate temperature, moisture and cooking time for a wide variety of foods. Rational AG is based in Germany; Rational USA is based in Schaumburg, Ill.

Other winners included Safloks Odyssey Lock in the Décor category; Teledex LLCs ExpressNet AirLink in the Technology category; and Hospi-tel Manufacturing Co.s CleanRest Mattress Cover in the Essentials section.

Judges looked at innovative product design or construction, how the product answered an industry need, and development of new technology. The judging panel included our own Brian Ward, chief editor here at Foodservice Equipment Reports as well as at Fortnightly.

Ellingson First Inductee to WRAs Supplier Hall of Fame
Paul Ellingson, CEO and president of Bargreen-Ellingson, headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., was recently named as the first inductee to the Washington Restaurant Association's newly created Supplier Hall of Fame.

Ellingson, a past president of the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association, was inducted at the WRAs CEO/Supplier Summit held recently at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville.

His contributions of time and talent to the WRA date back nearly 20 years. He has served three terms on the association's board of directors and has been active on several committees, including chairing the biennial trade show committee for the past eight years.

All Together Now, As Steel Makers And Distributors Consolidate In Two Separate Deals
Got steel? October saw big-time consolidation in the steel industry in both the distributing and manufacturing segments.

On the distribution side, Chicago-based Ryerson Tull signed an agreement to buy one of its key rivals, Integris Metals Corp. Integris, of Minneapolis, is one of North America's leading distributors of aluminum, stainless steel and other metals. Ryerson will pay $410 million in the deal, plus assume about $250 million in debt. The transaction is expected to be completed by early 2005.

On the manufacturer side is a triple merger involving the purchase of Cleveland-based Int'l. Steel Group by U.K. steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. To be exact, two Mittal-controlled steel companiesIspat Int'l. NV of the Netherlands and LNM Holdings NVwill merge to buy ISG. The new firm, to be called Mittal Steel Co., will have an annual capacity of about 70 million tons. The deal is valued at $17.8 billion. Mittal Steel will operate plants in 14 countries on four continents.

Of the two deals, the Ryerson Tull acquisition has the most potential impact on U.S. steel buyers, who now will have one less national distribution chain to use when preparing quotations.

The Mittal consolidation is not expected to have any immediate impact on steel prices, according to industry sources. Prices should continue to be stable through the first half of 2005.